America’s Presidents have been far from perfect, but many historians say ours was the worst | Commentary

Pennsylvania has the distinction of producing what many historians consider to be the worst President of the United States, at least for now.

As the new book “The Presidents” points out, it can take some time before history really judges a President, and those ridiculed, rejected and even despised during their day may be viewed as heroes a few generations later. Or vice versa.

As the new book “The Presidents” points out, it can take some time before history really judges a President, and those ridiculed, rejected and even despised during their day may be viewed as heroes a few generations later. Or vice versa.

It’s one of the main points authors Brian Lamb and Susan Swain emphasize in the book they’ve compiled from interviews with historians interviewed on C-Span. Lamb is founder and CEO of the cable news channel and Swain is co-CEO. Over C-Span’s four decades of providing access to newsmakers, it’s featured its share of historians assessing U.S. Presidents. Both were recently in Harrisburg to promote their book at a forum at the Midtown Scholar Bookstore.

President Donald Trump speaks during a National Day of Prayer event in the Rose Garden of the White House, Thursday May 2, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)AP

In “The Presidents,” they’ve compiled a readable, if subjective, ranking of the men who have occupied the Oval Office. There’s a section on Donald Trump’s potential legacy, but he can’t be assessed until he actually leaves office.

Chambersburg, Pa., Dec. 6, 1952. The cabin where President James Buchanan was born. It was moved there from Cove Gap and in 1953 was moved to the grounds of Mercersburg Academy.

There’s little disagreement, the worst, so far, has been our own James Buchanan, a lifelong bachelor who ascended into office at a critical time in the nation’s history – just before the Civil War.

He proved the wrong man for the job.

“He couldn’t make a decision,” Swain said. “He was a consummate waffler . . . He was bad.”

If Buchanan is generally perceived to be the worst President, there is also general consensus on the best – Abraham Lincoln.

Abraham Lincoln’s contemporaries attacked him in editorials, speeches, journals, diaries, and private letters. Even without Twitter and social media, they criticized his upbringing, his lack of formal education, and even his appearance.

Unlike Buchanan, Lincoln had the backbone to make a decision and stick to it, even if it meant Civil War.

So decisiveness is one of the chief factors that signals whether a President will go down in history as great leader or as a loser. But it turns out it’s hard to predict greatness based on a resume.

Buchanan had a resume chock full of accomplishments. Lincoln did not.

“No man ascended to the office with a longer resume,” said Swain of Buchanan, while Lincoln had very few qualifications to recommend him for the highest office in the land one of the most critical times in the nation’s history.

Truth be told, history is in the pen of the writer. And perspectives of who’s great and who’s not can change over the centuries.

Snow blankets a statue of Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Square with the White House behind, as a winter storm arrives in the region, Sunday, Jan. 13, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Take Andrew Jackson. For a long time, he was considered among the nation’s best Presidents.

Decisive and a great military leader, Jackson’s ranking among our Presidents has dropped in recent years.

“Some of the things we reflect on now, like the Indian Removal Act, will hurt him from now on.” Thousands of Native Americans died upon orders of President Jackson to remove them from their ancestral lands. Today, we would call it genocide.

History, especially Presidential history, has frequently been whitewashed, and key facts, such as genocide have been downplayed or completely omitted.

So what would America's 3rd president make of his country's current mess?

Take another President considered among the greats – Thomas Jefferson. “He had a lot of slaves,” Lamb said, and for a long time, no one talked about Sally Hemings, the black woman who bore him at least six children. It took modern times and the irrefutable evidence of DNA to add Ms. Hemings to the history books.

And while Presidential dalliances were once hush-hush, all the lured details are now written in plain English in the annals of America’s greats.

We already know about President Bill Clinton. But what about Warren G. Harding and Nan Britton? Not to mention our beloved JFK. Our Presidents were not always men of morality or integrity, and even the good ones had their lapses.

“Presidential scandals go all the way from Thomas Jefferson using James Calendar to write nasty things about John Adams . . . all the way up to Clinton and the different women in his life . . . to JFK , who got away with all of the affairs with women,” said Lamb. “It’s pretty bad stuff.”

And it’s all right there in “The Presidents.”

President Barack Obama reads his statement to photographers after making a televised statement on the death of Osama bin Laden from the East Room of the White House in Washington, Sunday, May 1, 2011. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)AP

There are few surprises, as well. Did you know Barack Obama ended his courtship with a long-time girlfriend, allegedly, historians speculate, because she might not be the right Presidential wife material?

Seems he always had his eyes on the Presidency and wound up among the best at number 12, at least according to “The Presidents” rankings.

How these rankings will change after President’s Trump’s stint in office is anyone’s guess. But “The Presidents” provides a glimpse of how history judges the men who have held the office, and how it is likely to judge the man there now.

Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.